Mini Victoria Sandwich Cakes

These are small-scale versions of possibly THE most classic cake. I love to serve them as part of an Afternoon Tea or just as they are, devouring them while watching television!

Vanilla cream with strawberry jam flavour

Blackcurrant & lemon flavour

I went for a couple of flavours this time: the simplest of flavours (strawberry jam & vanilla cream) and a fancier one (lemon curd buttercream & blackcurrant).

two types!

I use vanilla sugar for the cakes: I always like to have a jarful to hand as it adds the most wonderful flavour to cakes and biscuits.

Vanilla sugar:

I always like to have a jar full of vanilla sugar: just pop a few vanilla pods, which have been sliced lengthways with the seeds scraped out into the sugar, into the caster sugar. Put in an airtight container. Within a few weeks the sugar will take on a lovely vanilla flavour.

Cake tins:

I use the 12-hole mini cake tins from Lakeland: basically loose-bottomed muffin tins but with perfectly vertical sides which are essential for cakes such as these. They do give excellent results in terms of clean edges although for tins claiming to have a non-stick coating, they DO have to be well buttered and lightly floured to enable the cakes to turn out cleanly.

These tins are also excellent used to make mousse-type desserts and cheesecakes where there are layers involved; I made up my version of Gü’s After Dark Gü-Zillionaires’ Puddings using them:

After Dark Gü-esque Zillionaires’ Puddings: ready for the acetate to be removed

You can make these cakes in larger tins and cut out circles but you will invariably get rough edges. Any off-cuts, though, are great frozen and used later as a base for trifles!

Vanilla cream and strawberry jam:

Vanilla cream with strawberry jam flavour

Filled with vanilla cream with strawberry jam

For these cakes, I filled them with strawberry jam and whipped double cream that had been flavoured with vanilla. They were dusted with vanilla caster sugar. Sometimes, total simplicity is best!

Lemon curd buttercream and blackcurrant:

Blackcurrant & lemon flavour

Lemon buttercream and blackcurrant flavour

I filled these with a vanilla buttercream, into which some lemon curd was mixed. Blackcurrants that had been steeped in Cassis also went in the middle. These cake were topped with a little fondant feather icing (blackcurrant flavour with lemon flavour): very tangy, which works well with a cake.

They could just be filled with lemon curd, but I wanted the filling to hold its shape more and not dominate in terms of sharpness along with the blackcurrants: the lemon curd buttercream gives a very happy medium.

Ready for tea

Mini Victoria Sandwich Cakes: makes about 16

175g self-raising flour, sifted

3 large eggs, lightly beaten and at room temperature

175g vanilla caster sugar, or normal caster sugar

175g unsalted butter, softened

finely grated zest of an unwaxed lemon

To finish:

about 300ml double cream

seeds of a vanilla pod

strawberry and raspberry jam

vanilla caster sugar

fresh raspberries or strawberries for topping, optional

You will also need a 12-hole mini sandwich tin

(1) Preheat the oven to 160C(fan)

(2) Whisk the butter, sugar and lemon zest for several minutes until pale and very creamy. Add the eggs a little at a time and whisk well before adding the next bit of egg to avoid curdling. Fold the flour gently with a large metal spoon until well incorporated. Alternatively, go for the all-in-one method by mixing the ingredients (plus a level teaspoon of baking powder) together in a large bowl, taking care not to over-beat: over-beating will develop the gluten in the flour and result in cakes that are not as light and melt-in-the-mouth as they should be.

(3) Spoon into the cake tins, coming to just over half full and smooth the tops. You should have some mixture left over: this can be used to make some more. Bake for 15-20 minutes until well-risen, golden and springy. Leave for a few minutes in the tin and then invert to a wire rack to cook fully. Spoon the rest of the mixture into the tins and bake the final few.

(4) While the cake is cooking, make up whichever filling you are going for. Slice the cooled cakes horizontally and fill. Decorate or dust with caster sugar.

8 thoughts on “Mini Victoria Sandwich Cakes”

Thanks. Yes, I watched it (love this show!) but had made these ones last month. But watching Bake Off the other day kicked me into writing up the recipe :). Can’t wait for episode 2, although my idea of daunting in baking would be constructing a tall biscuit tower……..

Hi Philip, just arrived back home from our holiday in GB and what was practically the last item I bought at Lakeland’s in Bath? The mini sandwich tin! How lovely to see you just posted quality recipes!!!
Thank you and kindest regards from Hamburg
Evi
PS: I will post photos of my results (which I hopefully will get done this week) on Instagram..

I hope you had a good holiday here in the UK. Glad you got one of their tins – grease it very well as otherwise it sticks horribly, as I found out the other week when I forgot to grease it!! Happy baking and let me know when you’ve uploaded to Instagram. Regards, Philip

Hi Philip, today I make these. The first bake in our new kitchen!
They don’t look half as pretty as yours. I am a rather clumsy decorator! Any tips for getting better? You’ll find them on Instagram under this link http://instagram.com/p/sR5rk5L9y2/
Have a nice weekend! I have two breads proving right now. They will go in later. Must make the most of my free Friday.
Best wishes from Hamburg
Evi

Hi Evi. very exciting to have a new kitchen. The cakes look lovely and I could eat a handful of them quite easily! Unless you want to go down the route of piping (which is fun but can be a bit of a “faff”) I think these are great as they are and they do say “eat me”. Enjoy the breads. Regards, Philip

Hi Philip
Do you use a fan oven out of choice or because its what you have? I am having a nightmare with other recipes in a normal oven. Whatever temperature I bake at they catastrophically sink in the middle! The same ingredients work fine in a regular 7″ pan but the moment I try my Lakeland mini cake tin, (170-180° for 15 mins) disaster! Going to try your recipe now I have found it to see if I can resolve this. I have tried creaming the butter/sugar & the chuck it all in method; no joy.

Hi Kaye – I use the fan oven out of choice: it always give me more consistent results. How odd they sink in mini tins but not the larger tins: maybe don’t fill as much (and def don’t open the door until about 15-20 minutes of cooking) 🙂

If they do sink in the middle, filling the sunken cavity with whipped cream or buttercream and maybe a little fresh fruit such as raspberries will work wonders.